Peeling utensil

ABSTRACT

The invention is an article useful in assisting removal of peels from fruits and vegetables and having a generally elongated handle and a blade attached to the forward end of the handle. The blade is curved downwardly from the handle and has a concave side edge and a convex bottom surface.

United States Patent 11 1 Papalardo FEELING UTENSIL [76] lnventor:William A. Papalardo, 63 Little Neck Rd, Centerport, NY. 11721 [22]Filed: Feb. 11, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 441,132

Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation-in-part of Ser. No.249,609, May 1,

1972, abandoned.

[52] U.S. Cl 30/123.5; 30/1 13.1; 30/279 R [51] Int. Cl A47j 17/02; A47j17/04 [58] Field of Search... 30/279 R, 356, 123.5, 123.7,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 669,884 3/1901 Stoddard30/1235 2,022,954 12/1935 Cook 30/1235 2,064,718 12/1936 Baker 30/283 1May 27, 1975 2,073,546 3/1937 Baker 30/283 2,258,448 10/1941 G886 1.30/356 x 3,176,390 4/1965 Robinson 30/1237 3.299.510 1/1967 Taormina30/279 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 690,724 4/1953 United Kingdom30/279 Primary Examiner-Al Lawrence Smith Assistant Examiner-J. C.Peters Attorney, Agent, or FirmSchiller & Pandiscio [57] ABSTRACT Theinvention is an article useful in assisting removal of peels from fruitsand vegetables and having a generally elongated handle and a [bladeattached to the forward end of the handle. The blade is curveddownwardly from the handle and has a concave side edge and a convexbottom surface.

13 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures FEELING UTENSIL This invention is acontinuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 249,609, filedMay 1, 1972, now abandoned.

This invention relates to an article useful in assisting removal ofpeels from fruits and vegetables, and more particularly to hand-heldutensils for peeling a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Various utensils known in the art for coring and removing peels fromfresh fruits and vegetables have disadvantages. Known utensils aregenerally designed for use on just a single variety, or at most a fewvarieties of fruits and vegetables, requiring a housewife to acquire anumber of utensils. For example, devices such as the rocking movementpeelers shown in Fender U.S. Pat. No. 2,232,941 and in Gamache U.S. Pat.No. 2,362,896 are believed to be quite useful for peeling raw potatoesand have achieved substantial consumer acceptance. However, such devicesare believed to be decidedly less suited for peeling other fruits andvegetables such as apples and tomatoes. A further disadvantage is thetendency to clog during use which is annoying and not easy to clear up.Also, such devices are not particularly suitable for coring apples, andare also substantially unsuited for peeling citrus fruits such asoranges and the like. Other devices known in the art for peeling and/orcoring selected fruits or vegetables such as Hayward, U.S. Pat. No.1,213,361 (Apple Corer), Sale, British Pat. No. 657,602 (Citrus FruitPeeler), Brock, U.S. Pat. No. 193,220 (Apple Parer and Corer) also havelimited utility, for example, are believed not particularly suited forpeeling raw potatoes. Also, for some varieties of fruits and vegetablesthere are no utensils designed to assist peeling, e.g. peaches andpears. To peel such varieties a housewife may resort to using a straightblade knife. As will be appreciated such practice may be hazardous andis undesirable and may result in loss of pulp and juice.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a new article usefulin assisting removal of peels from a variety of fruits and vegetables.

A further object is to provide such a utensil that is also useful forcoring a variety of fruits and vegetables without appreciable clogging.

A still further object is to provide such a utensil that is relativelysimple, can be hand held, and which is easy and safe to handle andstore.

The foregoing and other objects are achieved by a preferred embodimentof the invention which consists of a utensil comprising a generallyelongated handle and a blade attached to the forward end of the handle.The blade is curved in longitudinal section, at least in part, hascurved side edges which are concave at least in part, and a convexbottom surface. Other features and many of the attendant advantages ofthe invention are described or rendered obvious by the followingdetailed description which is to be considered together with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of one embodiment of utensil of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a left side elevation view of the article of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of still another modification andpreferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the utensil according to the presentinvention showing a peeling operation on an orange;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the utensil according to the presentinvention showing a peeling operation on a potato; and,

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the utensil according to the presentinvention showing a coring operation on an apple.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, the illustrated utensil comprises agenerally elongated handle 20 formed of metal, wood or a high impactpolymeric material or the like. The handle is of size and shape adaptedto be handheld, e.g. as shown in FIG. 6. Although handle 20 is shown asa tapered elongated tube, it is to be understood that the handle canhave a variety of shapes and can be, for example, substantially flat,and it may be hollow or solid.

Attached to the forward end of handle 20 (formed integrally therewith,or attached by suitable means) is a blade 22. Blade 22 comprises anelongate body comprising a base 24, side edges 26 and 28, front edge 30and bottom 32. Blade 22 is curved in longitudinal sec tion at least inpart. That is, as viewed from the side as in FIG. 2, the blade curvesgenerally downwardly at least in part relative to the handle from base24 to front edge 30. Preferably the blade is curved downwardly with asubstantially constant curvature over a distance with a radius r in therange of from about 6 to 18 inches. If desired, only part of the bladeneed be curved, e.g. adjacent front edge 30, and the remainder may besubstantially flat. The important requirement is that at least a portionof the blade be curved in longitudinal section, generally downwardlyrelative to the handle, as will become clear from the description following.

One or both side edges of the blades are curved inwardly over a distancerelative to the long axis of the blade. That is, one or both side edgesare concave at least in part. The blade may have generally concave sideedges substantially along its length, e.g. edges 26 and .28 in FIG. 1.Preferably, edges 26 and 28 are curved inwardly with a substantiallyconstant curvature over a distance with a radius r in the range of fromabout 2 /2 to 12 inches. In FIG. 1 edges 26 and 28 are symmetricalcurves about the long axis 34 of the blade; however it will beunderstood that the edges 26 and 28 may be asymmetrical about axis 34.If desired, the blade side edges may also be: convex in part, e.g. FIG.4 at 47 and 48. The important thing is that the blade side edges aregenerally concave for at least a part of the blade length.

Front edge 30 is rounded in a generally convex shape. As shownparticularly in FIG. 3 the bottom surface 32 of the blade is alsorounded in a generally convex shape. That is bottom surface 32 curvesgenerally upwardly from the long axis 384 to side edges 26 and 28.Preferably the bottom 12 is curved upwardly with a substantiallyconstant curvature over a distance with a radius of r in the range offrom about /2 inch to 3 inches. As will be clear from the descriptionfollowing the generally convex shape bottom surface 32 of the bladeorients the blade so that while one edge, for example, side edge 26, isused to scrape the fruit or vegetable, the other side edge 28 divertsthe scrapings.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 there is shown a preferred embodiment ofutensil of the invention which is useful for peeling and coring avariety of fruits and vegetables. The utensil shown in FIG. 4 and 5 hasa blade 40 which is curved in longitudinal section, i.e. downwardlyrelative to the handle from the blade base 42 to the blade front edges44. As seen in FIG. 7 the curvature is greatest adjacent the blade frontedges 44, and the blade is substantially straight for a distanceadjacent the handle.

As previously described the blade side edges have convex sections 47 and48 and concave sections 45 and 46.

Side edges 45 and 46 run to a shoulder portion 50, and the blade thentapers at 52 to base 42. As will become clear from the descriptionfollowing the taper 52 forms a surface or rest for a finger or thumb ofthe user. Preferably the blade is widest in cross section at a point onthe convex edges with shoulder portion 52 at its widest point 50, notquite so wide. The remainder of the blade is somewhat narrower, whichfacilitates coring and peeling as will become clear from the descriptionfollowing.

Also in this preferred embodiment blade 40 has an open slot 54 runninglongitudinally from front edge 44 of the blade for a distance towardsbase 42. Preferably slot 54 extends for from about 50 to 75 percent ofthe length of the blade. Slot 54 may be somewhat longer than 75 percentof the length of the blade but this may tend to weaken the blade to someextent. Slot 54 preferably is tapered from the front edge 44 e.g. asshown in FIG. 4; however the slot may have a substantially constantwidth, or it may be vee shaped. The slot should be relatively narrowwith respect to the average width of the blade, e.g. for a blade whichis about l /z inch wide, slot 54 generally will be not more than aboutinch at the front edge 44, and the slot may be only about one-sixteenthinch at its closed end 55. Obviously slot 54 may be somewhat wider;however, this may tend to weaken the blade to some extent.

The slot inner edges 56 and 58, the blade side edges 45, 46, 47 and 48and the blade front edge 44 are preferably sharpened to some extent. Acritical requirement of this preferred embodiment of the invention and aparticular advantage of the invention resides in how these edges aresharpened. Edges 56 and 58 should be sharpened from the inside of theblade, i.e. from the concave side of the blade as seen in FIG. 5. Theseedges may be honed to quite sharp edges, e.g. as sharp as a paring knifeor even sharper. However, it will be appreciated that there is littlechance the one using the utensil may be cut from these sharp edges 56and 58 since they are substantially shielded by the shape of the blade.The blade outside edges 45, 46, 47 and 48 are also sharpened to someextent although from safety considerations these edges are desirably nottoo sharp. Furthermore side edges 45, 46, 47 and 48 need not beparticularly sharp to be useful as will become clear from thedescription following. An important requirement however, is that sideedges 45, 46, 47 and 48, should be sharpened from the outside of theblade, i.e. from the convex side of the blade as seen in FIG. 5.Obviously the shoulder portion 52 need not and should not be sharpened.

The outside edges 45, 46, 47 and 48 and the sharpened slot edges 56 and58 are blended together at the open end of the slot at front edge 44 ofthe blade. Thus, it is seen in that the exposed edges of the blade arerelatively dull, while the sharp edges are substantially shielded by theshape of the blade. This is an obvious advantage from safetyconsiderations. Also, the multiple types of peeling and coring jobspossible using this one utensil are achieved by the requirementsindicated herein.

A description of the operation of the utensil thus described will behelpful in delineating the inventive concepts involved. Referring toFIG. 6 wherein there is shown the use of the utensil shown in FIGS. 4and 5 for peeling a relatively thick skin fruit or vegetable such as anorange. The utensil is held in one hand, e.g. the right hand by handle20, and the users forefinger rests on shoulder 52. The orange is held inthe other hand. The orange and the utensil are moved relative to eachother, e.g. as by pressing upwardly with the right hand thumb. Edge 46peels the skin from the orange, which is diverted by edges 45 and 47.

One skilled in the art will recognize a number of advantages of theutensil of the invention. For one thing the longitudinal concave shapeof the blade conforms generally to the convex surface of most fruits orvegetables. This conformation, coupled with the concave curved sideedges provides a relatively long scraping edge, and this will result inrapid removal of the peels. Also, the convex curved bottom edge rollsthe side scraping edge (e.g. edge 26 in FIG. 1 and edge 45 in FIG. 4)away from the fruit or vegetable being peeled which may reduce thepossibility that the scraping edge may cut into the fruit or vegetableand the resultant loss of juice and pulp. Another advantage is that theutensil blade has relatively blunt exposed side edges (26 and 28 in FIG.1 and 45, 46, 47 and 48 in FIG. 4), thus making the utensil safe tostore and use. Also, since the utensil has relatively blunt side edgesit is less likely that the utensil will cut into the pulp of the fruitor vegetable which is being peeled, and result in an undesirable loss ofjuice and/or pulp.

An additional advantage in making the widest point of the blade on theconvex section, e.g. at 47 and 48, is that this tends to orient thepeeling action of the outer edges per se toward the user, which resultsin the least resistance in use. Better control and ease in peelingresults.

Still another advantage is that the utensil is useful for peeling avariety of fruits and vegetables. By way of example, even though theutensil may have relatively dull side edges (26 and 28 in FIG. 1 and 45,46, 47 and 48 in FIG. 5) these may be advantageously used to peel manyrelatively thick skinned fruits and vegetables such as oranges,grapefruits, lemons, tangerines, mangos, papayas, avocados andmushrooms.

Referring to FIG. 7 there is shown use of the utensil illustrated inFIGS. 4 and 5 for peeling the skin from a relatively thin skinned fruitor vegetable such as a potato. The utensil is held in one hand by handle20 and is inclined relative to the potato (held in the other hand) sothat one of the sharp inner edges of the open slot e.g. edge 56 engagesthe skin of the potato, and the other slot cutting edge, e.g. edge 58 isspaced from the skin of the potato a short distance. The utensil isbrought across the surface of the potato whereby edge 56 cuts into thesurface of the potato, and a slice of potato peeling will pass upwardlythrough slot 54. One skilled in the art will recognize another advantageof the invention. As is well known, slotted peelers such as described inFender US. Pat. No. 2,232,941 and in Gamache U.S. Pat. No. 2,362,896 areprone to become clogged with parings. To remove clogged parings from theslots of such prior art peelers the user typically must lay thevegetable aside, and the freed hand is then used to extract the cloggedpeels from the slot. Even then some of the peelings in the slot mayrequire some effort to remove them entirely. With the instant peeler itis a relatively simple matter to remove any peelings from the slot bymoving the thumb of the hand holding the utensil outwardly along theblade. (The index finger of the other hand may also be used this waywhile the object being peeled is still held in that hand.) In practice,the Vee shape of the open slot tends to be selfcleaning and minimizesany clogging. A still further advantage provided by the Vee shaped slotis that this allows the user to have some control over the thickness ofthe peeling. That is, the user can obtain a relatively thin peel bytaking the peeling at the narrower end of the slot, or a wider peel maybe taken at the wider end of the slot. Also, the longitudinal downwardcurve of the blade helps to conform the inner edges of the slot to thegenerally convex surface of the vegetables or fruits being peeled.Referring to FIG. 8 there is shown the use of the utensil illustrated inFIGS. 4 and 5 for coring a fruit or vegetable such as an apple. Theutensil is held in one hand by handle and it is pushed and rotated intothe apple (held in the other hand). The front edges 44 of the bladepierce the apple skin and act as the leading cutting edge. Side edges 47and 48, and slot interior edges 56 and 58 slice (and trail) through theapple as the utensil is pushed and rotated through the apple. Aparticular advantage of the invention is evident from using the utensilfor coring. One might expect that the downward curve (in longitudinalsection) of the blade may interfere with the coring operation. However,this shape unexpectedly makes coring relatively easy since this resultsin a hole being made which is somewhat greater in diameter than thewidth of the blade. As a result the utensil is less likely to bind as itis pushed through the fruit or vegetable.

Other changes will be obvious to persons skilled in the art. Forexample, if desired only one of the side edges, (e.g. edge 26 in FIG. 1or 45 in FIG. 4) may be curved or concaved inwardly, and the other edge(e.g. 28 in FIG. 1 or 46 in FIG. 4) may be substantially straight.However, it is preferred that both side edges be curved or concavedinwardly, preferably the blade is symmetrical about its longitudinalaxis so that the utensil may be used in either hand.

Still other changes obvious to persons skilled in the art are possiblewithout departing from the main premises of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A peeling utensil comprising an elongated handle and an elongatedblade attached at one end to said handle, said blade curved downward atleast in part in longitudinal section from the handle and having atleast one side edge concave at least in part, a substantially convexbottom surface, and an open ended slot extending from the other end ofsaid blade for a distance along its axis, wherein the edges of the slotare sharpened to provide cutting edges which are tapered upwardly andoutwardly from said bottom surface, and said blade side edges aresharpened in a direction opposite to the direction the respectiveadjacent slot edges are sharp ened, and said sharpened blade side edgesare blended with said sharpened slot edges adjacent the open end of saidslot.

2. Utensil according to claim 1 wherein said blade is curved downwardlywith a substantially constant curvature over a predetermined distance.

3. Utensil according to claim 2 wherein said radius of curvature is inthe range of between about 6 and 18 inches.

4. Utensil according to claim 1 wherein said side edge is curvedinwardly with a substantially constant curvature over a predetermineddistance.

5. Utensil according to claim 4 wherein said radius of curvature is inthe range of between about 2 /2 and 12 inches.

6. Utensil according to claim 1 wherein said blade is substantiallysymmetrically about its long axis.

7. Utensil according to claim 1 wherein said blade bottom surface isconvex upwardly from the long axis of the blade with asubstan'tiallyconstant curvature over a distance with a radius in the range of betweenabout /2 inch and 3 inches.

8. Utensil according to claim ll wherein said slot is tapered from saidopen end.

9. Utensil according to claim 1 wherein the blade side edges alsoinclude a convex portion at least in part adjacent the open slot end ofsaid blade.

10. Utensil according to claim 1 wherein the blade side edges alsoinclude a tapered shoulder portion adjacent the handle end of saidblade.

11. Utensil according to claim 10 wherein said blade is widest in crosssection at a point on said convex portion.

12. Utensil according to claim 10 wherein the blade side edges include aconvex portion at least in part adjacent the open slot end of saidblade, and a concave portion at least in part between said convexportion and said shoulder end of said blade.

13. Utensil according to claim 12 wherein said blade is broadest at saidconvex portion. k I 1:

1. A peeling utensil comprising an elongated handle and an elongatedblade attached at one end to said handle, said blade curved downward atleast in part in longitudinal section from the handle and having atleast one side edge concave at least in part, a substantially convexbottom surface, and an open ended slot extending from the other end ofsaid blade for a distance along its axis, wherein the edges of the slotare sharpened to provide cutting edges which are tapered upwardly andoutwardly from said bottom surface, and said blade side edges aresharpened in a direction opposite to the direction the respectiveadjacent slot edges are sharpened, and said sharpened blade side edgesare blended with said sharpened slot edges adjacent the open end of saidslot.
 2. Utensil according to claim 1 wherein said blade is curveddownwardly with a substantially constant curvature over a predetermineddistance.
 3. Utensil according to claim 2 wherein said radius ofcurvature is in the range of between about 6 and 18 inches.
 4. Utensilaccording to claim 1 wherein said side edge is curved inwardly with asubstantially constant curvature over a predetermined distance. 5.Utensil according to claim 4 wherein said radius of curvature is in therange of between about 2 1/2 and 12 inches.
 6. Utensil according toclaim 1 wherein said blade is substantially symmetrically about its longaxis.
 7. Utensil according to claim 1 wherein said blade bottom surfaceis convex upwardly from the long axis of the blade with a substantiallyconstant curvature over a distance with a radius in the range of betweenabout 1/2 inch and 3 inches.
 8. Utensil according to claim 1 whereinsaid slot is tapered from said open end.
 9. Utensil according to claim 1wherein the blade side edges also include a convex portion at least inpart adjacent the open slot end of said blade.
 10. Utensil according toclaim 1 wherein the blade side edges also include a tapered shoulderportion adjacent the handle end of said blade.
 11. Utensil according toclaim 10 wherein said blade is widest in cross section at a point onsaid convex portion.
 12. Utensil according to claim 10 wherein the bladeside edges include a convex portion at least in part adjacent the openslot end of said blade, and a concave portion at least in part betweensaid convex portion and said shoulder end of said blade.
 13. Utensilaccording to claim 12 wherein said blade is broadest at said convexportion.